


Queen of the Underworld

by fandramatics



Category: Hannibal Lecter Tetralogy - Thomas Harris
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandramatics/pseuds/fandramatics
Summary: She ate the seeds of the pomegranate.
Relationships: Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57





	Queen of the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a pagan and that I adore Greek Mythology, it was only a matter of time before I drew a parallel between Hannibal & Clarice and Hades & Persephone.  
> I hope you enjoy.

She eyed the milk, her lip pushed to the side at the idea of tainting her coffee with it. She shot a glance at the clock. He had been out for twenty minutes now, it wouldn’t take long for him to return and if he saw her drinking pure coffee, she would never hear the end of it.

The cons of marrying a doctor.

_ “... And now, about Clarice Starling,...” _ a voice came from the living room, the woman glanced over her shoulder and saw the interviewer speaking to her old friend, Ardelia Mapp, and to a man she didn’t recognize the complexion of, only the name, R. Notch, the writer. The one writer who dared to attempt to write about her and Hanibal.

Clarice grabbed the milk chart and made her way to the living room.

_ “I have to ask, Ms. Mapp, how does it feel to have yet another book written about Agent Starling?” _ the interviewer prompted.

Ardelia shifted on her seat, she gave a smile the former agent knew all too well and smirked at the sight of it,  _ “I think it’s pointless,”  _ she told the interviewer, _ “Starling was her own person, with her own thoughts. I lived with her and I… I failed to see what was in her mind,”  _ Clarice lowered her gaze to her coffee, sighed and poured milk into it.

_ “Well, there’s always room for speculation,” _ said a third voice, it made Clarice raise her eyes, the writer had spoken.

_ “Speculation, nothing more than that,” _ declared Mapp. Starling smirked,  _ “From what I’ve heard you plan to be another one to romanticize what happened to Starling.” _

The writer chuckled,  _ “Let me tell you, Agent Mapp, I wouldn’t be so cliche as to call what went on between Starling and Lecter of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, in fact, I think it’s more complicated than that” _

_ “Of course it is, _ ” shot the black woman.

_ “Are you familiar with The Rape of Persephone?” _

Both Mapp and Starling rose their eyebrows.

“What does it have to do with anything?” muttered the former agent to herself.

_ “Starling wasn’t a helpless goddess of flowers that was raped,” _ stated Mapp.

_ “Oh, no, Miss Mapp. Persephone was never raped. In fact, that was a word lost in translation, it was supposed to be ‘The Abduction of Persephone’” _

_ “Get to the point, Notch,”  _ hurried Mapp.

_ “Please, do, I’m curious,” _ said the interviewer.

_ “Persephone was the goddess of spring, she indeed was kidnapped by the lord of the Underworld, Hades, but, unlike people think, Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds out of her own will, gods don’t need to eat and the pomegranate are known for not only being a fruit of the dead but also for being the fruit of eternal marriage,” _

_ “The point, Mr. Notch!” _

_ “Persephone might have met Hades out of her will, but she returns to him willingly. She was said to be a perfect match for him,” _ the writer said, _ “They say that Hades merely revealed a side of Persephone that everyone else tried to ignore. I wonder if that’s not what happened to your friend, Ms. Mapp.” _

Starling realized she had sat down on the couch, the sound of keys reminded her to put the milk chart somewhere she wouldn’t be able to hit and spill it. Her eyes remained glued to the screen as she took a sip of her coffee.

_ “You’re on dangerous ground, Mr. Notch,”  _ Mapp stated.

_ “For what? For saying that, maybe, Lecter was merely Hades? He offered the fruit, she didn’t have to eat it, Ms. Mapp, let’s be honest. I saw her reports, Starling was no fool.” _

_ “Hades and Persephone,”  _ the interviewer smirked,  _ “Now that’s an interesting point of view, is this how you’ll approach the subject in your book, Mr. Notch?” _

Clarice felt him behind her before the pomegranate appeared in her peripheral vision, she turned a saw a hint of a smirk in Hannibal’s lips. “I do believe that Queen of the Underworld is a title worthy of a countess like you.”

She turned the television off, eyed the fruit, then laid back against the cushion of the sofa, “You’re supposed to feed me the seeds”

He nodded, worked on opening the pomegranate, “The myth said six seeds, for six months.”

“Give me seven, for seven years,” she replied, leaned her head back, closed her eyes.

Lecter parted her lips with his thumb and fed her seed by seed, tainting her lips red from the fruit. The seventh seed she had to capture from his mouth in a kiss.

She broke the kiss and met his eyes, “He might be right, you did give me gifts like Hades, and might have revealed something in me.”

“Perhaps, but the credit is still yours, I only revealed what was there to be revealed. Now, my queen, what would you like to have for breakfast?”

She beamed, “Pomegranates”


End file.
